Having endured the battle royal, and when it comes time for the narrator to give his speech, the white men all laugh and ignore him. When the narrator accidently says “social equali... ... middle of paper ... ...ir eyes off of the naked women dancing. The outbursts towards the black men is farther evidence that during that time, blacks had little to no say and had not felt equal to their white counterparts. Perhaps the most conspicuous symbol of all is the battle itself. The white men pitted a group of black men against each other; the black men were in a no win situation.
This is done by the extreme nature of the incidents described in the Battle Royal. At first, the boys are taken to a room where a nude woman is dancing. When the boys turn their heads away, they are yelled at for not looking. The tone of the rebuke implies that the blacks were not entitled to most of the ‘good’ things being white could bring them and that they weren’t really good enough for them. The boys then compete in the Battle Royal.
Ralph Ellison’s short story, Battle Royal, is mainly a description of the African American struggle for equality and identity. The narrator of the story is an above average youth of the African American community [Goldstein-Shirlet, 1999]. He is given an opportunity to give a speech to some of the more prestigious white individuals. His expectations of being received in a positive and normal environment are drastically dashed when he is faced with the severity of the process he must deal with in order to accomplish his task. The continuing theme of Battle Royal is that of a struggle for one’s rights against great odds.
This is done by the extreme nature of the incidents described in the Battle Royal. At first, the boys are taken to a room where a nude woman is dancing. When the boys turn their heads away, they are yelled at for not looking. The tone of this implies that the blacks were not entitled to most of the ‘good’ things being white could bring them and that they weren’t really good enough for them. The boys then compete in the Battle Royal [Ralph Ellison Battle Royal, 2003].
But the white men paid no attention. The white men end up attacking the girl, who is described as having the same terror and fear in her eyes as the black boys. Over all, the narrator comes to conclusion that the racial prejudice of others influences them to only see him as they want to see him, and this affects his ability to act because
Then he tried to deal with the fact that poor illiterate whites thought themselves to be superior towards him (DuBois 416). From there he met former slaves and heard stories and the "Black" experiences. WEB DuBois was a great fighter for the people, a true scientist, thinker and humanist. He held aloft a bright torch of poetic inspiration that lightens the way and illuminates the path of all who struggle for freedom. The questions that DuBois posed and dealt with along the way of a long and arduous life of unceasing service and dedication to the cause of the freedom of colored people are still challenging responses today.
Moreover, the author’s intention to surprise the unknown character with the boxing arena elevated pressure on him because he was not certain on how to even cast a punch. The anonymous character observed how the upper class Caucasian men surrounded the boxing arena like an antagonistic audience waiting impatiently to be entertained. Furthermore, the image of the naked, blonde Caucasian woman struck the unspecified character’s eyes. It is like her figure served for America but led the men astray. The anonymous character states, “I felt a desire to spit upon her as my eyes brushed slowly over her body.” Consequently, he firmly believed the woman initiated an uproar among the drunk men with her sensuous movements; however, the Caucasian woman represents the dominance she had over the crowd of men and the unknown character yearned for their attention so he can expose his speech.
Malcolm had made mistakes during his life but eventually pulled himself up to become the extraordinary person that we know him as today as described in this quote, “He raised himself up from a life of crime to become a clear and articulate voice in the struggle to achieve equality for black Americans” (Ann 1). In addition the quote is a clear statement of Malcolms resolve to change the future of himself as well as his fellow African Americans who have been oppressed for so long. In conclusion to this quote it should be a clear inspiration to anyone who allied with Malcolms struggle as well as believed in his dream of changing our world. Therefore it was due to Malcolms sacrifice that African Americans of his era were permitted to have a voice through Malcolms inspirational words that tore down the barriers so long created by the hate of others that would soon become praised by all down the line long after he was gone. Although during his time his speeches about equality and so forth were not nearly as appreciated as he was constantly attacked and persecuted by others to the point of feeling the need to defend his home and family with lethal
Blindfolded, the Negro boys stage a "battle royal," a brawl in which they batter each other to the drunken shouts of the whites. After such [a] humiliating and ghastly experience, the terrified boy delivers a prepared speech of gratitude to his white benefactors. Just Double-Space Initially, the chapter begins with the narrator?s mind-boggling confusion and his grandfather?s last words. [He=somewhat ambiguous. His grandfather] describes himself as a traitor and wants the narrator and his father to ?
Ladies and gentlemen, today is my honor to present you a man, who contributed to the shape of our nation. A man who had a rough infancy, through struggle, fought for the civil rights at the time of oppression cause by the segregation, inequalities and injustice, a man who never gave up for freedom. A man through his dedication, perseverance was able to make a difference in the African American community. Today he is recognized worldwide, and celebrated in the black history month. This man is Malcolm X. Malcolm X was a visionary who had the courage to step up and motivate the African Americans to fight for their freedom, through his speeches he enable African American to act to have the equalities and justice for all.